On August 26, 1968, five chartered members from the disbanded Western Canada Dental Nurses and Assistants Association, Alice Sellers, Lou Senton, Ethel Brown, Lois Nelson, and Grace Harrison met to begin the process of forming our first provincial association, the Manitoba Dental Nurses and Assistants Association, now named the Manitoba Dental Assistants Association (MDAA).
On January 25, 1969, they held the inaugural meeting at the International Inn (now the Victoria Inn) in conjunction with the annual MDA Winter Convention, to vote on the constitution for the Manitoba Dental Nurses and Assistants Association. Thus began the formation of the MDNAA. On March 30, 1982, the name of the association was changed to the Manitoba Dental Assistants Association (MDAA).
In February 1969, the MDNAA and WDNAA both began the long road for certification of Dental Assistants in the Province of Manitoba.
On April 22, 1969, three Dental Assistants appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press having been presented with navy and gold-banded caps and certificates for passing a 40 hour course sponsored by the Winnipeg Dental Nurses and Assistants Association. This, along with a required six months of employment, enabled them to take and expose x-rays. This was the only intra oral skill Dental Assistants were certified to do under the Dental Auxiliary Act of the day.
In June of 1969, a decision was made to begin an evening course at Tec Voc as well as a correspondence course for Dental Assistants beginning in October, 1969. This course became the first formal training for Dental Assistants in Manitoba. In 1971, expanded functions for Dental Assistants (Phase II) were recognized, but there was yet no legislation regulating Phase II Dental Assistants.
On June 19, 1975, the Dental Health Workers Act was passed by the Manitoba Legislature to regulate all Dental Assistants, hygienists and nurses employed by the provincial government, but did not apply to Dental Assistants employed in private practice. The MDA, however, at the same time changed their by-laws regarding supervision to define effective supervision as "the dentist must be present in the office while auxiliaries performed delegated duties".
In the late 1970's, representatives from the M.D.H.A., the M.D.N.A.A. and the W.D.N.A.A. (the three associations representing dental auxiliaries in Manitoba), formed the Dental Auxiliaries Legislation Group, which later become D.A.A.M. The mandate of this group was to create regulations to legislate the Manitoba's dental auxiliaries. The group continued to work throughout the 80's and 90's. In May of 2002, a joint task force between the MDA/MDAA was struck to develop a system to register, license and regulate all Dental Assistants in the Province of Manitoba.
As a result of a great deal of time and effort, on July 26, 2006 the MDA presented all Dental Assistants of Manitoba with a set of By-Laws now requiring any dental assistant that works intra orally in the Province of Manitoba to be registered, certified and licensed. This would require yearly registration fees and continuing education requirements.
A special General Meeting was called by the MDA on September 28, 2006 and a formal vote was held after much discussion regarding the new set of By-laws. The vote passed thereby incorporating the present day regulations which state that all Dental Assistants who work intra orally in a dental office in Manitoba, must be registered with the Manitoba Dental Association.
The Manitoba Dental Assistants Association was formed in the 1960's to improve the working conditions for all Dental Assistants in Manitoba and we are still striving to do that today. Your Board of Directors is comprised strictly of volunteers who meet regularly to discuss and plan on how to improve our profession and the working conditions of Dental Assistants in the Province of Manitoba.
The association now has an office and a part time, paid office assistant who works on behalf of your Board of Directors and for all Manitoba Dental Assistants to keep everyone informed about continued education courses, work related issues and many other issues important to our members needs.
